Human head Hollywood sign

Human head Hollywood sign

Human head Hollywood sign, Human head found on hiking trail, Police are investigating the discovery of a human head along a popular hiking trail in Hollywood Hills, Calif.,  below the Hollywood sign. Two dog walkers found the object  when their dogs began playing with it . Investigators say the head belonged to a man and they are working on a sketch in order to identify who he is

Hikers found a severed human head in a bag below the iconic Hollywood sign in the hills above Los Angeles on Tuesday, prompting a search in the area for an accompanying body, police said.

Two female hikers were walking nine dogs when they found what police said appears to be the head of a man. It was located off a trail near the Griffith Observatory in Hollywood Hills, a popular recreation and tourist area that is home to a 53-mile network of trails, equestrian paths and fire roads.

"Two dogs were playing with it, and that's when the dog walkers looked closer and realized it was a human head," Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Karen Rayner said.

The women called park rangers immediately upon finding the head in a bag, Rayner said. Rangers then called the police.

Police believe the severed head had not been at the site for a long time, based in part on the fact that there were no animal bites on it, Rayner said.

Police used cadaver dogs to assist in the search for further human remains until dusk, when they called off the investigation until daylight returns. The crime scene is being guarded by police.

The coroner's department will pick up the severed head later in the evening.

The Hollywood sign on Mount Lee above Los Angeles originally read "Hollywoodland" and was created to promote a housing development in 1923. The last few letters deteriorated in the late 1940s and the part that remained was restored in 1978.